Minnesota Class 1A girls hockey state tournament: South St. Paul defeats Fergus Fall in double OT
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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The No. 4-seed South St. Paul Packers defeated the No.5-seed Fergus Falls Otters 1-0 in double-overtime in the Class 1A quarterfinal at Xcel Energy Center.
After three periods of scoreless hockey, and almost two full overtime periods, South St. Paul senior Sarah Wincentsen scored a highlight-reel goal to send the Packers to the semifinal.
Fergus Falls goalie Ana Jyrkas made 41 saves on the night
To say that South St. Paul had its fair share of chances to end this game would be an understatement. The Packers dominated the back half of the game and peppered Fergus Falls goaltender Jyrkas.
“It was so fun to watch," Fergus Falls coach Tim Lill said. "[Jyrkas] was on her game tonight and kept us in this one.”
The Packers outshot the Otters 42-19 in the game, and it was Jyrkas who kept her team in it till the very end. South Saint Paul had numerous two-on-ones, but it was Jyrkas who stood tall for almost every chance that the Packers created.
“What she did on all those odd man rushes tonight was incredible,” Lill said.
The nerves didn't seem to get to the Fergus Fall goaltender all night. She stood tall and handled every puck with ease, not allowing many rebound opportunities for South St Paul.
“I was having the time of my life out there.” Jyrkas said. “That's why you play hockey, I was just excited and smiling out there taking it all in.”
Eventually, South St Paul was able to breakthrough in overtime number two as senior Wincenten toe dragged a defender before stick handling it past the sprawling otter goaltender to get her team to the next round.
“I remember thinking, 'I can't shoot it because I know [Jyrkas] was going to save it,' but I just went for the move and it worked out," Wincentsen said.
Power play haunts the Otters
Though the Packers may have dominated in the shots department, the Otters had their fair share of opportunities to win the game as well.
Fergus Falls started the first overtime on the power play, but it was unable to get a shot on goal as the Packer defensemen did a great job of stopping pucks before they could get to their goaltender. In the second overtime, the Otters once again got a chance on the power play but could not convert.
“South Saint Paul did a really good job killing off those power plays we had,” Lill said. “We had a few good chances, but in big games like these ones it's hard to execute and perform every time given that these are just high school kids.”
The Otters also had a chance earlier in the game, once again the power play, but they could not convert as the shot hit the post, denying the Otters the elusive one goal they needed to move on.
South St. Paul will play the No. 1-seed Warroad Warriors on February 24 at 1 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center.
